The meeting was moved from 6:30 to 9 p.m. because the Green ran from 3-7. I ran the upper and there were no cars in the parking lot at 4:15 and 25 there when we got back, so that was a good call. Many of those paddlers went to the meeting, I would say about 50 attended.

According to Woody and Sara, the fishermen and TU have already established a constructive relationship with the Duke official who manages flow on the Green River.

As a local business person representing the kayaking community Sara was invited to one of their meetings.The fishermen, like us, are interested in establishing a flow regime that eliminates dumping water from Lake Summit at nightime.

Some fishermen prefer 60 percent, some prefer no flow, but TU agreed they would like to have a UNIFIED position with the local boating community (If only we could have that kind of relationship with the Rabun County chapter on the Chattooga!) The fishermen, according to Sara, will support getting rid of nightime flows and holding the water for 100 percent daytime releases. This, she noted, presents a huge opportunity.

The fishermen drafted a letter and asked for our input. The letter suggested holding back water earlier in the week and releasing it on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

A number of paddlers at last night's meeting were critical of that approach. Their concern was that if Duke establishes regular release days like TVA has on the Ocoee and Progress has on the Pigeon, the Green will be inundated with out-of-town paddlers. Many boaters said they love the current system of calling up in the morning and finding out if the Green is running, then "busting ass to get down there." (That is exactly what I did to run the Upper yesterday). Local boaters who moved here because of the Green and have structured their life around it don't want it to turn into the Ocoee. A common thought was that the Green could not handle that kind of heavy use and bringing it on would be a mistake.

A consensus emerged that we ask the fishermen to modify their letter to take out the reference to certain days of the week, but leave in the request  to Duke to eliminate nighttime flows and save the water for 100 percent daytime flows. The fishermen would like these flows to not start until 7 a.m. to give them time to fish on the lower with the water off.

Sara was amenable to asking the fishermen to make the changes to the request. She is willing to continue working with the fishermen and Duke on this issue and on this modified position on behalf of paddlers, even though I am sure her business would benefit more from a regular schedule of releases. Let me say I am glad she is willing to take on this role as liaison for the Green River paddlers, and that she was willing to seek input from everybody before moving ahead.

I am a Green River local who has been paddling the Upper Green for 20 years. If I got anything wrong or some of you see the meeting differently, feel free to say so.